A website committed to perpetuating and improving the application of the scythe

A Tool Better than the Scythe

(for some jobs, of course!)

A rather significant percentage of would-be scythe owners claim to be needing this potentially graceful tool for the cutting of brush.

Where we live in Canada, the term “brush” usually refers to branches of trees left behind in the woods after the de-limbed log was pulled out. But we did eventually figure out what our American neighbours are up to when “brush cutting”: They are trying to prevent small tree saplings from encroaching and reclaiming cleared land.

Can’t say that we blame the trees; the now-cleared land was once forested, for much longer than our tenure on this continent…. Neither can we say that the scythe is the tool of choice for such a job. Provided you opt to compete for the title to that land, a good pair of long handled loppers, the “Woodsman’s Pal” or a clearing ax may be less demanding on one’s skill than the scythe. Still, cutting the stems down does usually not get rid of them; they sprout back next season from (sometimes) even stronger roots. To permanently hold back “the invasion” they must be pulled out, roots and all.

To accomplish this, we know of no better tool than The Extractigator. This is one of the versions of what is also known as a “weed wrench” — but the best one of them all. Are we qualified to make such a statement? Well, although our specialty is the scythe, we have a good friend (Ken Moore of Santa Cruz, California) whose specialty is invasive plant control. He is a “tool man”, has tried other weed wrenches, and when he told us the Extractigator is the best, we knew we could trust his judgment.

We put our Extractigator to work on a patch of Siberian plum saplings which we had been battling — using a scythe — for several years. The tool proved as good as Ken promised.

Photos show results of the first few minutes of work with it.

Hence we suggest that before you ask us for a “brush scythe”, please consider the Extractigator. You can buy it directly from the manufacturer at: http://www.extractigator.com/